I knew today would be mixed….started off at the hotel, packing, having a great breakfast and then leaving to come home. I arrived home to jump straight back into work. I had 57 emails waiting for me and after nearly 4 hours of work have only managed to deal with 19. Bit snowed under, I’d say. It’s one of those things….you get the relaxing break but come back to three days of work! The problem with the emails is that they keep arriving. No sooner have a dealt with a number of them, a few more trickle in.
Anyway, Mike was wonderful and took care of dinner. All I need to do now is this blog and then get on with some more work. In order to catch up, I’m not going to get to my ladies meeting tomorrow. As I said in my message to them, ‘that’s the problem with being employed – people expect you to work!’
Mike was highly impressed with the hotel breakfast. So much so that on our return he went out and bought breakfast food, so he can mimic the hotel fare. Now that he is retired, this is something he can do and it absolutely appeals to his sense of order. Riana will approve!
I love it!
The three front containers are filled with various nuts – the only Banting friendly food there!
While away I read quite a lot more of the journal of Lady Anne Barnard. She is on a ship heading towards the Cape and finally they are making good progress. It’s a hard life, sailing the high seas with none of the great assets we have today – like engines and stabilizers. The year is 1797 and Lady Anne Barnard is a genteel lady of note. Married to her husband 10 years her junior, poor Mr. Barnard was very ill indeed – constantly nauseous he made for poor company. Travelling with them is a niece named Anne Elizabeth who has caught the eye of a poor love-crossed sailor. She has to reject him as his station in life is not sufficient to be accepted by her family. On board there was also a 45 year old General, who, while a lot older than Anne Elizabeth, had the advantage of being very rich!
Lady Anne writes,
“Could she have liked the Gentle General but half as well as she was disposed to like the inferior Officer I saw well that his heart would have surrendered, but even with 10 thousand Per Annum 45 loses sadly by a comparison with 21, tho’ 21 does not always gain all that 45 loses. I tell Mr. Barnard that if his bile leaves me a young widow I mean to accept of the General – perhaps to propose to him myself….”
What a thing to say to your husband – ” if you die from sea sickness, I’ve got a ready replacement who I may just propose to myself! ”
Things have changed – things haven’t changed.
There is still a lot of social levels and class distinction in the world today – but they are not half as bad as they were just 70 years ago, let alone 200.
Proverbs 22:2
The rich and the poor have a common bond, The LORD is the maker of them all.
Back to work I go.
These are the days.
Keep the smile going.
God bless you!
In His Grip,
Helga xx 🙂